Articles by Francisca González

The Sunshine Canyon house, designed for a family of four, is located on a high alpine hillside in a rocky canyon five miles above Boulder.  A small cabin, surrounded by a dense forest of pine and fir trees, once occupied the site. In 2010, the Four Mile Canyon fire ravaged this property, burning the cabin and 4.5 acres of 100 year-old trees to the ground. When the ash had settled, what remained were granite outcrops, steep slopes, and newly revealed expansive vistas. The barren site eerily resembled the treeless landscape of Boulder at the turn of the century.  Rediscovering the architectural language of that era―particularly the region’s mining and agricultural heritage―provided the necessary design inspiration. While the home’s gabled roof form and rustic materials recall the area’s early vernacular, the design seeks to establish a language of its own―reflective of and specific to its current context and geographic location.